


The Time the West Flooded

by DumbCane



Category: Warcraft - All Media Types, Warcraft III, World of Warcraft
Genre: Bandits & Outlaws, Cowboys & Cowgirls, Cows, F/F, Fluff, Gunshot Wounds, Hurt/Comfort, Maybe a little OOC, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Slow Burn, Timeline What Timeline, Wild West AU, okay the timeline is pretty similar but also messed up, theramoore did happen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-12
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-10 16:27:00
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 15,825
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28020120
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/DumbCane/pseuds/DumbCane
Relationships: Jaina Proudmoore & Anduin Wrynn, Jaina Proudmoore/Sylvanas Windrunner
Comments: 4
Kudos: 45





	1. The Meeting

The soft clop of hooves and echoing murmuring drew the attention of everyone nearby. Cows.

Jaina watched curiously as everyone in the street scattered, many of them cheering on the lumbering beasts. Jaina gave a subtle grin as the large herd slowly made it's way through the small town, an occasional calf eyed her curiously as it pranced by, it's mother snorting towards her calf, urging it to follow. What Jaina did not expect, was a small group of horses within the group, they stood out rather sorely.

"Windrunner!" Jaina's head snapped towards the booming voice next to her, a gruff looking Tauren being the originator of the shout. Jaina glanced over and saw an Elf casually riding a deep black stallion, her head down reading a book. Time seemed to slow as the Elf's pale ears flicked towards the voice, a smirk forming on her face as she looked up from her book. The booming voice once again called out, "Windrunner! I thought I had told you not to drive the cattle through town no more!" Clearly, he was annoyed, and when he noticed the smirk on the Elf's face, he suddenly turned red.

"Sheriff, I'm only doing my job, I have a deadline to make, surely you understand." The Elf shouted with her voice clearly in a sweet tone, her ears dropping low as she tilted her head back and laugh. The laugh seemed to reverberate in Jaina's chest as she watched. The Elf leaned back in her saddle as she went back to her book, clearly displaying no worry as she slowly passed the sheriff. The sheriff, as Jaina had learned, grew irritated, his eyes burning as the Elf rode by, winking toward the sheriff. If that wink could have spoken, Jaina had no doubt that it would have dripped with sarcasm.

"Damned Windrunner," the Tauren sheriff mumbled as he turned towards Jaina, smiling, "I only hope she learns her lesson during the off season or she'll be the death of me." Jaina let out a soft chuckle, gently swatting away any dust that accumulated on her sea green cloak.

"Well, sheriff, as long as she has the cattle under control, how bad can it possibly be." The sheriff let out a deep mirthful laugh, placing a large hand on Jaina's shoulder. 

"You have as much bite as Windrunner there," he smiled, Jaina unsure whether it was a compliment or a negative comparison but she couldn't say she enjoyed it nonetheless. "Well, you best be going, before Windrunner decides to drive the cattle through town again to spite me." A sweet smiled spread across Jaina's face as she just nodded and turned away, her heart racing at the thought of the Elf possibly returning. Jaina only rubbed her forehead, trying to rid the smile from her face.

* * *

Jaina gently traced the rim of the glass with her right forefinger, the glass softly humming in response. Her mind raced about the day's events, unnoticing a pair of eyes on her. The Elven bartender eyed her curiously as Jaina occasionally took sips from her whiskey, their eyes unreadable but clearly probing what they could gather about the woman. Picking up the glass Jaina threw her head back and swallowed the rest of the foul liquid. Her throat stung, but the sting was soon replaced by a pleasurable humming. She motioned for the bartender to bring another, and he happily obliged, filling the glass to the top.

Again, Jaina traced the glass, too lost in thought to care that a certain Elf had walked in. Tossing the whiskey back, she elected to not read too deep into the running heart she had earlier. Dropping two gold coins down next to the empty glass, Jaina stood up quickly, but was just as quickly with her back to the floor with a yelp.

"Hey," a low growl coming from her throat as she looked up, the Elf from before looking down at her, an amused smirk plastered on her face. The Elf leaned back on her left foot, her eyes gleaming as she crossed her arms. Jaina felt the heat rise in her face, hoping it was just the whiskey taking effect and nothing else. Jaina pushed herself upright, she struggled to get on her feet, and when she did manage to get herself up, her knees wobbled under her weight. The elf just grinned as she watched. "How bold of you to not help up the person you knocked over."

"Not my fault you were in my way, dear." The Elf's ears went erect and clearly forward, Jaina knew enough for it to be a sign of amusement.

"At least some help would have been appreciated." Jaina mumbled, trying to balance herself to walk past the Elf. The Elf only seemed interested in watching Jaina's struggle, spinning out of Jaina's way, unfolding one arm and stretching it out. It was a challenge, keep walking or fall back down, Jaina lifted her chin as she took a step forward. Her leg buckled beneath her and she fell to her knees. The Elf leaned over Jaina as she folded her arm back into its previous spot, her light, golden hair tickling Jaina's nose.

"Aw," Jaina swatted annoyedly at the Elf's hair, "it seems you had a bit too much." There was a distinct note of amusement in her voice, and Jaina didn't have to see her face to know there was a shit eating grin waiting for her. Jaina sighed in defeat.

"Please," her hand raised in front of her, "help me." The Elf let out a belittling laugh, her hands quickly under Jaina's arms, earning a surprised and strangled sound from Jaina's mouth. The Elf carefully placed Jaina on her feet, Jaina could see that the Elf was clearly a foot taller than her, her heart began to race. "I did not mean pick me up like a sick puppy." The Elf just clicked her tongue, a finger wiggled in Jaina's face.

"You just seemed so," a devilish grin spread across the Elf's face as her once wiggling finger gently tilted Jaina's chin up, " _down_."

"You are as insufferable as the sheriff alluded you being." Jaina hissed, the Elf's ears folded down ever so slightly, Jaina regretting what she had just said. She could see the hurt that flashed in the Elf's eyes, it was quickly replaced with indifference as she walked past Jaina, slapping her hand on the bar top and shouting something in Thalassian. Jaina grunted, wiping herself off as she stumbled out of the bar, hissing as her right knee stung with every step. _So frail_ Jaina thought solemly. 

Jaina froze, she had nowhere to go. Jaina sunk down, sitting on the steps leading up to the raised deck of the bar. She had forgotten to reserve a room, and no doubt there was no staff awake at this dreadful hour. The Elf's horse was tied, tightly, to a post nearby, it eyed Jaina, slowly shuffling over. Jaina was too focused on sulking to notice the horse had leaned over and began to play with her hair atop her head with its lips. Nonchalantly Jaina nudged the horse away, the horse only made sure to go back and grab her by her braid, tugging on it.

"Tides, just as stubborn as your master, are you?" The horse only huffed as it tugged on her braid harder, seemingly in disagreement to Jaina's comment. "Cut it out!" Jaina hissed, her eyes softly glowing in frustration. The horse let out nicker, amused by Jaina's growing frustration. _Definitely its master's horse_ Jaina noted, her eyes glowing brighter.

"Magic is illegal here, little mage."

Jaina jumped forward and stumbled on her feet, the horse letting go of her braid and let out what sounded like a laugh.

"I wasn't-"

"Please, I'm an Elf. We know when someone practices magic, we can feel the energy leeching off." 

Jaina though back to the Elven bartender, that explains why he eyed her oddly. He could have sensed she was a mage.

"W-well thank you for the warning," Jaina sighed, she returned to her spot on the steps. She tried to avoid looking at the Elf, her heart was already racing as it was.

"Sylvanas."

"Excuse me?"

"My name," Jaina could practically hear the smirk, "is Sylvanas." She could hear Sylvanas quietly walk over, "you need me to pronounce it for you? Syl-va-"

"I got it, thank you."

Jaina's face grew warm, from frustration she prayed.

"Well, little mage," Sylvanas sat down next to her, nudging her horse's face out of the way from trying to play with Jaina's hair, "what's the name?" Jaina was certain her face was a firey red, no doubt offering pleasure to Sylvanas' odd sense of pleasure that Jaina was just discovering. Sylvanas' horse just pulled her hat off, waving it in the wind, but Sylvanas was unphased by her suddenly missing hat.

"It's," Jaina sighed, "it's Jaina. Jaina Proudmoore." 

"A Proudmoore? What are you doing so far from that rowboat of yours? So far from home, little mage, did you drift away?" Jaina bristled. _Rowboat? Who does she think she is?_

"That _rowboat_ ," Jaina hissed, "is being decommissioned." Jaina sighed, hugging herself. "I'm not welcome home anymore."

There was silence. 

Jaina's guilt begun to build itself up.

"I'm sorry."

Sylvanas' head whipped around, looking towards Jaina. Even the horse was surprised as it stopped waving Sylvanas' hat around and peered at Jaina inquisitively. No doubt that horse was smarter than it looked. 

"I'm sorry I called you insufferable." Jaina whispered, guilt woven in the words. Sylvanas' ears flattened as she laughed heartily, Jaina's stomach churned. Jaina's eyes begun to gloss over as tears welled up, blurring her vision as she tried to concentrate on her hands.

"Little mage," Sylvanas said through her laughter, "I'm aware of how insufferable I am. Why do you think the cows only have one driver and not ten?" Jaina tried to smile through the tears. Sylvanas had stopped laughing, her hands gently grabbing Jaina's face and turning them towards her. Silky gold hair framed Sylvanas' face, her ears pinned down, and her eyes offered a sympathetic gaze. A lavender cotton button up, with the top two buttons undone, hung loosely on her torso. "No need to cry, little mage, my feelings were not hurt." A tear dripped from Jaina's eyes. Sylvanas offered a soft smile, no hint of malice or distrust in it, it undone Jaina.

Jaina's tears spilled over, her body shuddered as she quieted any potential sobs. Sylvanas looked around, startled at the sudden outburst of tears. 

"Jaina, I-" Sylvanas wrapped an arm around the sobbing woman, "I'm not upset, I promise." Sylvanas lowered her voice, trying to soothe the mage.

"It's not just that, I have no home, I have nowhere to go," Sylvanas winced as Jaina rapidly spoke. Jaina leaned into Sylvanas, sobbing quietly.

Sylvanas kept and arm wrapped around Jaina as Jaina cried. The bar was relatively empty, it always had been except for holidays and private parties, the only reason why it was open all the time. Sylvanas only rubbed Jaina's arm, placing her head atop the mage's. 

Soone enough, Jaina had given up tears, but still clung to Sylvanas. Sylvanas was deceptively well muscled, Jaina could feel from under the light shirt Sylvanas wore, and the realization made Jaina push herself away and become unmistakably warm from embarrassment. The tips of her ears burned as she cursed herself for feeling Sylvanas' muscles through her shirt. Large ears perked up, almost vibrating eagerly.

"Well, little mage, I'd be glad to house you in my quaint little home." Sylvanas grinned, untying her horse and throwing one leg over him, reaching for the hat to take from his mouth. He only huffed in annoyance as Sylvanas placed the hat on her head, her ears were quite the sight, sticking out from the hat oddly. Sylvanas reached one hand out to Jaina, pulling her to her feet. "I don't live too far, the ride will be quick," Sylvanas said with a warmth Jaina hadn't thought possible from the teasing earlier. 

Eventually, Jaina pulled herself onto the horse, taking a deep breath.

"Ready."

"Hold on!" Sylvanas yelled as she flicked the reigns, the horse reared into a spin, Jaina quickly latching onto Sylvanas to stay on. As the horse landed on his front legs he took off, dust and wind hitting both women in the face. Sylvanas leaned forward, Jaina following what Sylvanas did. Sylvanas' loose hair fluttered in the wind, whipping her in the face as she grasped tightly to the cotton shirt, her hands feeling cold. A smiled crept onto Jaina's face, as Sylvanas' horse carried them out of town, his hooves thundering against the dirt road. The horse was a fantastic runner, Jaina could easily tell. He ran as if he was floating across the ground, even her nephew's meticulously trained horses never ran as smoothly. Adding insult to injury, her nephew's horses only ran on flat ground, not this uneven dirt patch they called a road.

"Thank you!"

"What?"

"I said-!" Jaina smiled as she leaned in to Sylvanas, "I said thank you." Sylvanas' ears flicked, clearly taking in what she said. The horse began to slow, he breathed heavily as he came to a stop near a small building. A stack of firewood on one side of the building, with an axe resting near the pile. Sylvanas wasn't moving, as a matter of fact, she shuddered. It wasn't a cold night, Jaina was noticing how warm the air really was.

"Little mage," Sylvanas' ears were pinned down and her voice dripped with poison while also sounding sweet, "no _magic_."

Jaina became keenly aware of her hands being frozen to Sylvanas' shirt and she quickly dissipated the magic. Sylvanas quickly stopped shivering, her ears perking right back up, into a neutral position. Helping her down, Sylvanas wondered why the mage was so far from Kul Tiras, or the Eastern Kingdoms. Not being welcomed home, did not mean not being welcomed to a kingdom that she served just as loyally as her homeland. Sylvana's long brows furrow, moving slightly in the wind. It's best not to ponder the mage's sudden escape into land mostly used for ranching.

Sylvanas led Jaina into the quaint house. A single window, facing the east, let soft moonlight flood the room. Instinctively, Jaina held her hand out and lit a small ball of fire, filling the room with brilliant light, but the look Sylvanas shot her was more than enough for her to quickly extinguish the magical flame.

"Reliant on your magic, I see." Sylvanas mused as she reached for a match, it offered a weak warmth once lit, but Sylvanas paid no mind as she pulled an oiled lantern down, igniting the slow moving fluid and filling the room with light. Sylvanas' ears begun to vibrate once again.

The room was quite stuffed, both women had little to no room to move, but then again, Sylvanas seemed to not care. A bed sat in the far corner, across from it, a few freezing stumbles away Sylvanas shuddered at the memory, a wood stove that no doubt provided heat for the entire room. Quilts displaying nature and magic covered the bed and walls, a way to keep the room insulated during the winter Jaina mused. A small desk sat next to the bed, covered in stationary and small keepsakes, some of them magical Jaina noted. A decently sized chest, used for storage, sat by the door, with a small table with a couple chairs sitting in the middle of the room. Finally, in a lonesome corner, an armor stand with Elven armor. The armor shone in the gentle moonlight, glittering, and it seemed to hum quietly. It has seen battle, small gashes and minor dents telling a story, one that Jaina could not hear. 

Sylvanas walked over to the bed, pulling the quilts apart and a hidden comforter back, and she pulled a small, deep purple blanket out. 

"You sleep in the bed, I will sleep on Temper tonight." Sylvanas said flatly, turning from Jaina almost immediately.

"Temper?"

"The horse, Proudmoore."

"You wouldn't sleep in the bed?"

That got a response from Sylvanas instantly. Her ears twitched, trying not to show any form of emotion, but Jaina could see how they wanted to go straight up. Sylvanas had stiffened at the question, an innocent question but it was as if the mage had encased the Elf in a block of ice.

"Temper will be fine." Sylvanas said as she hurried from the building, Jaina smirking softly as she sat down on the bed. In almost an instant, she had passed out from exhaustion, she still wore her traveling armor, sprawled out in the bed.

Sylvanas turned to Temper, who let out a soft nicker.

"Shush, Temper." Temper only seemed to mock his owner further as she climb into the saddle and wrapped herself in the blanket. Temper settled by the window, himself fading into sleep. Sylvanas looked through the window once more, the mage surely asleep as her chest rose and fell slowly. 

_That mage_ , Sylvanas shook her head, _needs to learn not to use her magic._


	2. Training

"Come on, little mage, you have to stay _on_ the horse!"

Jaina wiped the dirt and sweat off her forehead, Temper huffing in her direction as she fallen off, again. Sylvanas had a sudden shift from a week ago, her soft and warm, although still condescending, mood had been replaced by steely ice. The next morning had her barging in while Jaina tried to rest.

_"Come on, little mage, we got to train you." All clapping and shouting, enough to startle Jaina awake._

"Tell me, why, am I all of a sudden learning to ride a horse?" Jaina hissed towards Sylvanas, who only helped Jaina back up and pulled Temper over. Temper flicked his ears, annoyed.

_Jaina stared at Sylvanas, the Elf had a new fury in her eyes. Jaina watched on as Sylvanas placed a plate down on the table, steam rising up. Eggs, from what creature she couldn't tell but they seemed normal enough, and sausage. Jaina hadn't realized her mouth began to water as she pushed herself up, and suddenly she realized. She hadn't eaten the day before, she glowered at the plate, feigning annoyance._

"You have to know how to ride, if you want to stay here." A slight ear flick.

_"You're not going back home any time soon, I'm taking you in as my cowboy-in-training." Sylvanas' ears vibrated excitedly, betraying the hard expression on her face._

Sylvanas helped Jaina up, gently pushing the woman back into the saddle. The sun hung low in the west, Sylvanas ears wilted. Temper stomped his right foreleg angerly, Sylvanas gently swatting him on the shoulder. They were all tired, Sylvanas from the heat and lack of arcane energy she's been receiving, Jaina from the past week of training and utterly failing, Temper... Temper was a horse used to just going, no stopping and starting. They were all irritated.

"One more round, just stay on for one minute." Sylvanas sighed, massaging one of her ears as she climbed over the small corral. Jaina eyed her cautiously, she did not know what compelled Sylvanas to take Jaina in. The Elf as a cowgirl was a very odd sight, mostly humans, Taurens, and Orcs. The Elf was deceptively strong, but she, as many other Elves, looked so dainty next to the large animals. Taking a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves, she nodded towards Sylvanas, who only flicked an ear at her. Gently flicking the reins, Temper lurched forward, a gentle pace, just to ease Jaina in. Soon, the quiet padding of hooves became louder and heavier as Temper reached almost a full run around the edge of the coral. Jaina held onto the reins for her life, she had ridden horses before, but never controlling one as it ran, she was terrified, holding back a scream that clawed at her throat. 45 seconds. Sylvanas only watched carefully, her ears continuing to wilt.

Temper heavily breathed as he continued to run. 30 seconds. Jaina wanted to reassure the horse, but she could not unlatch her hands from the reins. Her mouth was glued shut, lest she wanted to scream and startle Temper.

Sylvanas pulled her bandana from around her neck, the red cotton square already soaked from sweat, but she attempted to wipe sweat off her forehead. 15 seconds. It was a fruitless attempt but Sylvanas hadn't noticed.

5 seconds.

Sylvanas ears vibrated as Temper can to a stomp, huffing. Jaina was frozen in her seat, petrified.

"Did I do it?" Her voice shook and cracked, Sylvanas let out a small, amused chuckle.

"You finally stayed on for a minute." Sylvanas smiled as she hopped the corral fence, taking Jaina's hand and helping the frightened mage down carefully. As Jaina came down from her fright. Jaina started screaming, grabbing ahold of Sylvanas' arms.

"I-I did it!" A smile deep on her face, her eyes bright.

"You did!" Sylvanas let out a small laugh, returning the arm hold. She stumbled back, from Jaina latching herself onto her and crying. Sylvanas gingerly returned the hug, suddenly she seemed to feel a little... hungry.

Jaina rubbed her face into Sylvanas' shoulder, she didn't know why she was crying, in all honesty. Perhaps it was the relief of finally acomplishing a simple task, or just Sylvanas congratulating her. She peered up, Sylvanas' eyes closed thin, almost as if she were a cat being pet. Her ears unwilted, beginning to vibrate rapidly.

"Sylvanas?"

"Mmm?"

"When did your ears wilt?"

Sylvanas' ears stopped vibrating, flattening as she looked at Jaina, and suddenly she stepped back, abashedly kicking at the dirt. Temper let out an amused huff, leaving the pair, to a feed bucket off the side. Jaina eyed her curiously.

"Elves need arcane energy," Sylvanas trailed off, not looking at Jaina.

"You said I gave off arcane energy?"

"Yes, well, I-" Sylvanas now looked at her. "You're overflowing with it, and it's really hard to get arcane energy here," Sylvanas cringed at where mind was going to, "you're practically radiating pure arcane energy and just touching you was enough to feed me." 

Jaina didn't know Sylvanas' ears could be so low. Jaina giggled, gently grabbing Sylvanas' hands.

"If you need to recharge, let me know. It's nothing to let you rest a hand on me." She got an ear flick in response, she didn't know whether it was her accepting or a silent denial.

Sylvanas awkwardly kicked at the ground, Temper neighing in her direction. Sylvanas eyed the horse in frustration, her eyes burning in a warning, yet the jet black stallion just flicked his tail and went back to chewing on his feed. Sylvanas wondered if the offer was genuine and not just a nicety to keep her comfortable.

"We're in the off-season, Proudmoore, we have 2 months to properly train you before you can possibly join me on a cattle drive. It's a lot of work and the pay is utter sh-"

"I don't," Jaina paused, looking at her feet, "I don't want to join you on a cattle drive, Sylvanas."

 _So it was just a nicety._ Sylvanas slightly shook her head. Sylvanas looked at the sky as she tussled with her feelings.

Deep reds and pinks danced along the horizon where the sun retreated, golden clouds ushering in a navy blue, star-studded sky. Shadows danced across the ground, reminding Sylvanas of the time. She took a deep breath, the sky calming her when she wanted to lash out. Her eyes came down to the mage before her. Her mostly white hair shifting in a whispering breeze, she had taken her braid down early in the day as it was slowly undoing itself. Her blonde lock seemed to glow in the light as it stumbled from one side to another. She couldn't read the mage's face, perhaps she didn't feel anything for what she just said.

"Well, I'm still going to train you, you clearly aren't going back home, where ever that is." Sylvanas walked over to Temper, pulling him by the reigns to the corral exit. Jaina following after, unable to keep pace with the long strides Sylvanas took. "Non-magic skills are still valuable, so I'm going to keep training you." A rapid flick in Sylvanas' left ear. Sylvanas reached her destination, a small shed. The floor covered in hay and big enough for Temper to comfortably walk around and be sheltered from the elements and any potential predators. Temper eyed her carefully as she removed the bridle and reigns, moving onto the saddle.

"At least, I don't want to join you on a cattle drive right now," Jaina softly whispered. Jaina thought Sylvanas hadn't picked up what she said, she had no visual or verbal confirmation. Sylvanas continued to work on Temper, gingerly placing the saddle on a stand and picking up a brush. Sylvanas pondered Jaina's sentence, the brush in her hand knocking dust off Temper as she made long brush strokes. "I think," a sigh, "I think I am going to turn in for the night." Jaina walked to the door, her hand resting on the doorframe in a way that made it seem fragile. As if if she held it any tighter, it would crumble to dust and blow off in to the wind. "Good night," Jaina turned around to look at Sylvanas, she was still brushing Temper with her back to Jaina, "Sylvanas." 

It was shattering. The soft whisper that was Sylvanas' name, it seemed deafening. Sylvanas paused, Temper looking at her. Her hand tightened on the brush as her throat suddenly went dry.

 _She's just a mage, running and hiding from her issues, Sylvanas. Of course she's not going to stick around._ Sylvanas scowled, her grip on the brush now digging into her fair skin. She went back to brushing the horse, quick heavy strokes compared to her light and long strokes. Temper flicked his master with his tail, but she ignored it, focusing on her thoughts and the brush in her hand. _She's not going to stay._

* * *

Jaina opened the door and slowly walked in, the dim light from outside casting raking shadows from the objects in the room. Closing the door behind her, she hussed at herself. Words rarely evaded the well educated mage, but in the moment Sylvanas looked hurt, they had. 

Without taking a moment to think, she tossed up a protection ward on the room. She picked up one of the wooden chairs and threw it across the room, screaming. Tears flowed from her eyes as Sylvanas' face burned itself into her memory. It reminded her of the hurt faces in Theramoore, she grew angrier. Her hands began to shake as she picked the chair up once more, tossing it around with no thought.

 _It was my fault they looked like that_ , Jaina became lost in her own thoughts, _it's my fault Sylvanas looked like that._

Reaching for the chair again, Jaina hesitated. This wasn't something she would do, any time in her life, not even in her father's death did she break. Jaina was not Jaina in the moment, and she stopped herself at the sudden realization. She struggled to breathe at the thought of Theramoore. 

Theramoore.

Jaina stumbled back trying to shake the memory out of her head. But the faces of those she cared about, and their pained expressions haunted her. She picked up the chair, gripping it tightly as she stumbled towards it's original position, placing it down. Her breathing quickened as she struggled to move her legs, a part of her screaming at her to move, to breathe, to do something but freeze. Her legs were locked under her, she felt her throat seemingly close itself and her lungs struggling to pull in breath. Her arms shook as she tried to wrapped her arms around her chest.

Suddenly, she left the grasp of Theramoore's memory, her lungs no longer struggling to expand and contract. She tightly hugged herself, uncaring about the tears on her face. She kicked off the borrow boots, climbing into Sylvanas' bed and she tried to lull herself to sleep, yet sleep never came that night.

Neither did Sylvanas.


	3. Taking Aim

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You got an extra chapter within 12 hours ;)  
> I had it ready to go when chapter 2 was posted, currently starting on chapter 4 since it SEEMS like people are enjoying it.

Light.

Searing light.

Jaina shot up, sweat on her brow. Her face burned.

Jaina was able to sleep for a few hours, she remembered the sun rising over the horizon and then nothing.

Sylvanas was gone, still. The room was still warded, she quickly removed the protection ward. Her eyes seemingly burned, they stung dangerously, no doubt the bright light that flooded the room. Climbing out of bed, Jaina stalked towards the door, doing her best to not make a sound despite it only being her in the house. The hair on the back of her neck rose when she touched the handle of the door, something was out of place. Jaina peered around the room, a pistol laid on the small chest by the door. She vaguely remembered Sylvanas explaining how to use the weapon, she searched for the safety. She disengaged the safety, confirmed with a soft click, she quickly engaged it as she checked to make sure it was loaded. Quickly loading the weapon. Sure that she had it properly loaded she disengaged the weapon, creeping towards the door.

"Good thing Windrunner is gone, boys let's go!" Jaina pressed her ear towards the door, a raspy voice with a strange accent barked and hollered commands. Jaina rested her hand on the doorknob, her fingers twitching as she carefully turned it. 

"Are we going in the house boss?" Jaina paused, trying to level her breathing.

"No, Windrunner could be back soon." Jaina grew furious as she slowly pulled the door open, when there was a crack to look through, she could see trolls. A whole group of them.

The trolls wore white bandanas, soaked through in blood, over their mouths. Hats atop their heads, blocking the no doubt blazing sun. They wore no shirts, intricate body painting of various colors, but they all shared the same design. The trolls were raiding the small building that Sylvanas had taken Temper to the night before. Next to the small building were crates filled with supplies and other things Sylvanas couldn't have kept in the house. A fire lit under Jaina watching them open every crate and pull stuff out. Suddenly, her heart sank as she thought about Sylvanas.

Sylvanas isn't here, they wouldn't be in there if she was. Jaina had to remind herself, before she jumped out and shot one of the trolls. They laughed and cheered, one of them finding a bottle of whiskey and opening it, giving cheers as they all shared the bottle. Opening the door further, thankful that the door did not decide to let out a roaring squeak in this moment. Her finger reached the hammer of the gun, pulling it back and priming it. She leapt out the door, aiming the pistol at one of the trolls.

* * *

"Not many calves this year, Windrunner." Baine said, pointing out another calf in the corral for Sylvanas to catch. "How's the training with that stray you got?"

"Many of the girls didn't meet up with a bull, sir." Sylvanas said as she tossed a rope over the small animal and pulled it from its mother to get tagged. "I really hope you'll give the girl a chance if she deci-"

Shots rang out. They were quiet, but no doubt gunshots.

Baine and Sylvanas looked at each other. Temper was grazing nearby, even he stopped to look up. Sylvanas ran over to Temper, quickly mounting up on the horse and riding off, Baine running his kodo that was tied up to one of the corral posts. Temper's hooves thundered as he ran across the massive field that separated Baine's land from Sylvanas', dust kicking up behind as he closed in to the property lines. Sylvanas readied the pistol on her hip as they crossed onto her property. 

She was cursing under her breath, angry that she left Jaina alone. For all she knew, Jaina was dead at this moment and she would be at fault for leaving her alone. Temper was huffing as the house came into view, dust and smoke obscuring and figures. She slowed 50 yards from the house, clambering off Temper as Baine caught up, readying a rifle. They watched for a moment, seeing if there was any movement, or anymore gunshots to happen. The smoke dissipated and the dust settled, and Sylvanas could clearly see the scene.

Jaina rested against the house and two trolls laid on the ground, one of them writhing in pain.

Baine and Sylvanas dashed towards the house, Baine training his rifle on the writhing troll. As Sylvanas neared Jaina, she saw the physically exhausted woman struggling to clutch her arm. Deep red blood slipping between her fingers, Jaina quietly huffed in pain, glowering at the wound on her right arm. Sylvanas peered around Jaina, a pistol barely in Jaina’s right hand. It looked like the training Sylvanas gave the woman came in handy, although it took for awhile for her to be able to figure out how to load and shoot the pistol when she taught her. Still, Sylvanas was impressed Jaina was able to hit two targets without second guessing herself.

“Sylvanas-“ an angry hiss came from Jaina, her eyes narrowing, but she winced at the sharp pain in her arm. Sylvanas crouched down, carefully removing Jaina’s left hand from the wound, despite the angry growl in protest from the woman. “You left me!”

“Jaina, if I had known you would get-“

“No! This isn’t the time, Sylvanas!” Jaina’s eyes were like daggers as they looked at the elf. Sylvanas could feel them piercing her skin and ravaging her insides along with the hiss of Jaina’s voice. “You could have said anything about you leaving, and yet you left without a word. On top of the fact you never came back last night.” Sylvanas remained quiet as she pulled out a knife and cut the sleeve off from the shoulder, Jaina eying her as one of the cows did when they were about to try and trample Sylvanas.

Sylvanas looked at the gunshot wound. The bullet still inside, visible by the dull gleam in the center of the wound. The blood was clotting, but still flowing. The muscle in the area was mangled by the bullet. Quickly getting up, Sylvanas rushed into her home, she scrambled to her desk and franticly pulled open the drawers, looking for the first-aid kit she usually kept. Finding it, she quickly pulled it out and ran over to Jaina sliding in the dirt as she ripped the kit open, trying to help the woman who was muttering a string of curses towards her current nurse.

“Baine, I need you to leave the dying troll and come help me hold the girl down.” Baine pulled the trigger at the troll cursing the group, and suddenly it had come silent. It would be tranquil if not for the heavy and staggered breathing coming from Jaina. Baine gently laid his rifle down, “let me move her to a better position,” Sylvanas struggled to say as she got her arms under Jaina’s and pulled her from the wall and laid her down. Jaina protested with a shriek as her arm got jostled. Baine and Sylvanas reeling from how the sound hurt their ears. Baine came around Sylvanas, holding Jaina down by her arms.

Sylvanas pulled the bullet from the wound, earning a kick squarely in the side from Jaina. Baine offered an apologetic glance towards Sylvanas, who just shrugged it off as she poured some type of antiseptic onto gauze. She quickly shuffled over to Jaina, her jaw flexing as she just placed the fabric on the wound and got screams of pain. Jaina struggled to break free, Sylvanas was impressed at the mage not using her magic, because even out numbered the mage could have easily wiped the floor with them.

“Jaina, please-“

“Don’t.”

They all sat there in silence, occasional gasps of pain as Sylvanas worked on Jaina, who eventually became cooperative and was released by Baine. Wincing through the pain, Jaina’s eyes glazed over, her mouth open to try and capture some air as her nose had become stuffy. Her face was flushed, and covered in sweat, she was extra warm today Sylvanas noted.

Sylvanas eventually finished dressing the wound, Jaina no longer fighting in any way as her head hung low. Sylvanas reached to lift Jaina’s head, her hand under Jaina’s chin and lifting it up carefully.

Disdain.

Jaina stared at Sylvanas with pure disdain.

“Leave me to die next time.”

“You wouldn’t’ve died from a gunshot wound like that, unless it got infected.” Baine interjected.

Sylvanas just rolled her eyes as Jaina just scowled in his direction, not appreciating the sentiment. Sylvanas rested the back of her hand to Jaina’s forehead, who couldn’t fight at the movement. Her forehead was burning hot. Without a second thought, Sylvanas scooped Jaina up, Baine helping her balance when she stood up, and made her way to the building. Jaina fought back, weakly pounding Sylvanas’ chest and utter something along the lines of “unhand me.” Baine held the door open for the women, grunting as duck down and tilted his head to let his horns in.

“Watch it.” Jaina hissed as Sylvanas rested her on the bed, Sylvanas muttering an apology as she reached for a clean rag and her waterskin. Placing them to the side, Sylvanas went to take off Jaina’s shirt, the bloodied shirt was basically ruined with its missing sleeve, as she went to undo the front buttons, Jaina grabbed ahold of her wrist.

“I’m going to have to undress you,” Sylvanas said calmly, trying not to aggravate a dangerous and upset woman any further.

“Please, don’t.” Jaina thickly swallowed as she looked at Baine, her face got redder, and not from the fever she was currently running.

“Sorry, forgot you humans were a little prudish.” Sylvanas joked, trying to lighten the mood. “Baine, could you please step out?” The massive Tauren said not a word as he lumbered out of the room. Sylvanas went back to unbuttoning the shirt, she froze at the sight of scars all over Jaina’s body. Some of them no doubt from blades, but some pulsed with arcane energy and glowed a soft blue, she shuddered at what could have caused such scars.

Realizing a fully flushed Jaina was staring at her, she helped Jaina to sit upright, the woman basically draped onto her, as she pulled her left arm from the sleeve. She could feel Jaina struggle to breathe, punctuated with occasional cursing. She pulled the ruined shirt to Jaina’s right side, and not wanting to disturb her wounded arm, she took a knife to the shirt down the length of the torso. Pulling it off as carefully as she could, she began to hum softly, working on Jaina’s pants.

She could see Jaina become flushed even further, she almost laughed because she didn’t think that she could have gone any redder, but decided it was best not to laugh. She pulled each leg from the pants, quickly pulling Jaina’s socks off as well. Sensing that Jaina was growing uncomfortable by each second that passed, she pulled the covers over the woman.

“Baine!” The Tauren opened the door and stuck his head in. “Please, can you go into town and get some elderflower tea?”

“Mmm,” was all he responded with before pausing, “should I bring back some honey as well?” Sylvanas looked at Jaina who just quietly nodded.

“Yes, and please, let me know how much it costs so I can pay you back.”

“You know I wouldn’t make you pay in an emergency.”

“I will still pay you back either way, so please,” Baine just nodded as he dipped out of the room once more.

* * *

Baine returned with the tea and honey, he walked in gently placing the honey on the table. A wet rag on Jaina’s forehead, doing it’s best to cool her off a bit. Both women seemed thoroughly exhausted, and he couldn’t blame them. A gunshot wound always made for an eventful day, any day of the year. Sylvanas silently thanked Baine, who only nodded in response as he watched her pull out a kettle and fill it up with water from her waterskin.

“I’m going to return to the farm, Sylvanas. I’ll finish tagging the calves, please, just keep her safe. You don’t need to come in for the next couple of days.” Before Sylvanas could protest, he was already out the door. She sighed as she placed a few of the elderflowers into the kettle and set it on the stove, quickly filling it with new firewood and lighting it.

Eventually the kettle began to whistle, pulling it off, she filled an empty cup she had available. She opened the gar of honey, and grabbing a spoon drizzled and mixed some in. She carefully carried it to Jaina, gently sitting on the edge of the bed. She softly shook Jaina, who looked up at her with sullen red eyes.

“Please, drink it.” Jaina was able to push herself up with her good arm, Sylvanas catching the wet rag. Thankfully, Jaina didn’t feel the need to argue with Sylvanas and took the cup. She attempted to blow on the surface of the tea with a meek puff of air, Sylvanas said nothing as she reached out and tenderly removed the cup. She blew on the tea for Jaina for a few moments, and when she felt satisfied enough to give it back, she did so. Jaina tossed her head back, the tea warm in her throat. Passing the cup off to Sylvanas, Jaina laid back down.

“I’ll be alright, won’t I?”

“I don’t see why not, I did the best I could to patch you up.” Sylvanas said as she placed the cup on the table nearby and returned the wet rag to its place. Jaina smiled.

“No, I meant if I’ll be an alright shot.” Sylvanas wasn’t smiling or laughing. Sylvanas only sighed as she got up, making her way to the door. “No, please,” Jaina glanced away, carefully choosing her words, “please stay.”

Sylvanas seemed to ponder the statement, but she relented and made her way back to the bed. Jaina scooted herself over as best as she could. She motioned for Sylvanas to join her to her left, and without arguing she climbed in after removing her boots. Sylvanas laid there as Jaina fell asleep, not daring to move until she was sure Jaina was asleep.


	4. Guilt

Jaina shook her head, sweat flying off. It had been a few weeks since the shoot out, and Sylvanas found out that it wouldn’t have had happened if Jaina had only stayed inside. Jaina’s arm was still bandaged, but under Sylvanas’ watchful (and overbearing) eye, it had begun to heal without a hitch.

Sylvanas leaned against the fences of the corral, watching Jaina level herself on Temper. Despite being down one arm, the mage had caught on to riding pretty quickly after their first day. Temper seemed happier, and as affectionate towards Jaina as he was towards Sylvanas. Pushing herself off the fence, she walked over to the corral gate. Jaina controlled Temper to the opened gate, the horse with an extra spring in his step as he exited the corral.

Sylvanas was quite surprised Jaina fit into her clothing. Sylvanas had to say, Jaina looked pretty good fully dressed. The cotton shirt she wore was a deep red, matching the bandana loosely tied around her neck. The shirt was a little too big for Jaina, it loosely clung to her figure and looked silly because of how long it was on Jaina. Thankfully, the jeans Jaina wore weren’t suffering the same fate and fit her but with the aid of a belt.

The chaps.

Sylvanas hadn’t thought chaps were something a person could pull off, but she stood corrected when Jaina put them on. Besides the primary factor of someone looking like an idiot with massive furry legs, surprisingly, that wasn’t the affect they had on Jaina. The brilliant white sheepskin chaps looked as if they belonged on Jaina, Sylvanas pondered for a moment. Perhaps it was Jaina’s mostly white hair that pulled it all together. Sylvanas’ right ear flicked as she thought about it, suddenly aware of her ears they flattened immediately against her head.

Sylvanas’ ears haven’t been wilting during Jaina’s stay. Sylvanas almost laughed at Jaina’s sudden eagerness to offer a hug whenever her ears showed even a slight bit of wilt. They had a month to go until the cattle drive. Sylvanas furrowed her brow. Jaina hadn’t said anything about staying for the cattle drive. Sylvanas decided not to push the subject, she didn’t believe any good could come from it.

Jaina on the other hand, had so many questions to ask. She wanted to ask about the drive and the time they would spend, how they would live out there with little to no shelter. Jaina had not made a definite decision, but suddenly, she had the need to go. A part of her just felt like she had to follow Sylvanas into fire. She shook her head as Sylvanas approached, leading Temper and her into a massive field peppered with cows, laziest ones she could get, provided by Baine for Jaina’s training.

“Alright, Proudmoore, all you have to do is catch one of these cows.” Sylvanas let go of Temper, handing Jaina the rope on her hip. “It ain’t gonna be easy but,” Sylvanas looked at the cows, they were all lounging in the dirt chewing their cud, uninterested in the pair, “you should be able to catch one.”

Jaina just looked at the rope before taking it nervously in her hands. She had tried so hard to not use her magic to do any task set to her by Sylvanas, but a part of her really wanted to just cheat. No use, due to her teacher being able to detect the movement of arcane energy. She stared at the rope in her hands before she sighed.

“How am I supposed to use this to catch one?” Sylvanas just smiled as Jaina carefully handed the rope over.

Sylvanas neared a cow, again, Jaina had noticed how awkward Sylvanas’ hat appeared on her head. It wasn’t like any hat Jaina had seen; the edges flared up to allow Sylvanas’ ears to comfortably express emotion. Jaina shook her head, maybe it wasn’t as silly as it looked, but it was a far cry from the cowboy hats her nephew wore when he was young. Jaina felt the edges of her lips tug up at the memory.

_“Auntie, you’re under arrest for banditry!” Anduin towered over her with a grin, a fake metal star pinned to his shirt and a cowboy hat on his head. Jaina tried her best not to laugh and faked a snarl towards the pretend sheriff._

_“You have no proof, boy!” Anduin approached her and pulled out a short length of rope._

_“Quiet bandit! Unless you want some trouble, let me see your wrists.” Jaina presented her wrists, scowling as best as she could as Anduin tied the short length of rope loosely around her wrists. He pulled his toy pistol out, Jaina had modified it to shoot a puff of snow, “let’s go, bandit.” Jaina pushed herself up, letting herself be led by Anduin around the room. Just as she settled into fake prison, Varian burst in-_

“Proudmoore?” Jaina snapped out of it, her face becoming flushed with a warm tone of red. “Were you listening? You just gotta toss the loop around the cow’s head.” Sylvanas demonstrated once again, the cow laying in the grass without a care in the world, just glancing at Sylvanas with curiosity. Jaina just nodded her head, watching Sylvanas remove the rope from the cow. The cow just snorted in response, slowly pushing itself up and wandering away. Sylvanas passed the rope off to Jaina, who just nervously swallowed as she took it.

Jaina tightly held onto the rope in her left hand, the reigns loosely in her right. With a gentle nudge from her heels, Temper pushed forward. He was gentle to not jostle Jaina as he moved. They made their way towards the closest cow, who just looked at them with an odd expression. Jaina almost burst out in laughter at the animal, it seemed to be asking her why she was there. Doing her best to unravel the rope, she tossed it out.

She missed.

By a good 20 feet.

It was right in front of her.

Sylvanas stopped breathing, her ears becoming warm as she held back laughter. Jaina just sat there, unmoving, which only added to the hilariousness of it. Sylvanas let out a cough, trying to get some breath but there were a couple whines mixed in the coughs. Sylvanas jogged out to Jaina, picking the rope up, she prayed that Jaina couldn’t see how red her face was. If Jaina asked she was afraid she would start laughing in her face. Despite being an asshole, she wouldn’t go as far so to laugh in someone’s face when they were learning something.

“I’m not good at this, aren’t I?” Jaina softly asked, Sylvanas froze, trying to make sure whatever came out of her mouth was not a laugh.

“Well, Proudmoore,” Sylvanas took a deep breath as she felt a laugh try and escape her throat, “it’s really hard to use a lasso. Took me awhile to get the hang of it.”

“I couldn’t be much use during the cattle drive.”

Sylvanas carefully chose her words.

“Well, I can control the cows, it’s not a problem.” Sylvanas began to wrap the rope up, returning it to its spot on her hip. “You could help care for the horses or cook or…” Sylvanas trailed off, trying to think.

“Yeah, stuff you already do without me.”

It went quiet, the silence was solemn, except for the cow chewing her cud in front of them. Suddenly an idea clicked into Sylvanas’ head.

“You can be a lookout!” Jaina eyed her carefully, “Jaina, you’re a good shot, and I need a good shot. There are coyotes and bandits during a cattle drive, and if you can scare them off, it’ll make my life a whole lot easier.”

Jaina didn’t appear to be downtrodden, so the suggestion was good.

“Well, I’m just not very helpful in general.” Jaina muttered under her breath. Jaina’s face stung in the moment, her hand reaching towards the spot that burned.

“Don’t you ever say that.” A finger pointed up in her face, a low growl in Sylvanas’ throat only adding to the threat. “You stopped a bunch of bandit trolls from completely robbing me dry of materials and have been helping me do my job.”

Suddenly, Jaina began to burn with anger as she realized Sylvanas had just slapped her.

“That’s not what I’m referring to, and either way I still fucked that up!” Sylvanas suddenly felt the air drop in temperature.

“That’s not what matters, you were running a high fever that day, of course it wouldn’t have been like that if you weren’t sick!” Jaina’s eyes began to glow a light blue as she stared at Sylvanas longer than she wished she did.

“You don’t know who I am or what I’ve done. As far as Azeroth is aware, I’m as good as dead!”

Sylvanas’ eyes narrowed as she stared on. She could feel her fingers twitching in anger, trying to grasp at something that was no longer there.

“I left people to die! I ran off like a coward.” Sylvanas snarled.

“So did I! I left-“

“The reason the high elves of the Eastern Kingdoms don’t exist anymore is because of me! You are looking at a pigheaded coward who should have died. I was the Ranger-General who ran away!” Suddenly Sylvanas felt drained as she saw Jaina’s face flash through multiple emotions before settling on a hard expression to decipher. Jaina slid off Temper, still staring at Sylvanas. The horse looked between both women, nervous by the interaction.

“And I was the woman who didn’t stop the man who did that Sylvanas.”

“It’s not-“

“I loved the man who attacked your people. This all started because I couldn’t stop him. I didn’t stop him from culling Stratholme. I didn’t stop him when he went off to Northrend and became the monster he is known for now. I didn’t stop him when I knew he was marching towards your weakened kingdom.” Jaina turned away from Sylvanas. “Your people died because I thought if I killed the man I used to love, I couldn’t have had the chance to save him. I was wrong.”

The temperature went back to normal, Jaina’s eyes no longer glowing. Her arms tightly grasped at her sides as she walked away.

“But I made the decision to leave, Jaina. That wasn’t your decision.” Sylvanas sighed. “I don’t know what decision you made, but I know it has branded you.” Jaina didn’t respond as she continued to walk away. Sylvanas and Temper watched helplessly as Jaina walked off.

It was going so well, or so Jaina thought. She laughed at herself. Did she really almost make the decision to stay? She scowled as she entered Sylvanas’ home, Jaina suddenly feeling a twinge of sadness in her stomach, was this really the right thing to do?

Was it really right to hide from the world and cower? Jaina knew the answer was no, but she wasn’t going to show her face to the Alliance ever again. She practically failed them when she let Theramoore fall. Theramoore was her fault.

Theramoore.

_Theramoore._

Jaina’s head hurt at the memory of Theramoore.

She failed to notice she had begun to pace back and forth in the small space, her breathing sporadic as Theramoore kept lodging itself in her mind. Her nails dug through the shirt as the memory of the manabomb kept playing over and over again. Her eyes clouded over as she tried to shake the memory out of her head, unaware of her body shaking. The arcane scars on her body began to throb, causing more pain to the mage as she struggled to even take a step forward.

* * *

Sylvanas neared the house pulling Temper along, praying that enough time had passed for Jaina to have cooled down even a bit. The window came into view and she could see Jaina frozen in place, clutching herself while shaking. Sylvanas dropped Temper's reigns as she dashed into the house, the door slamming open and its hinges groaning in protest. Sylvanas removed her hat, tossing it haphazardly onto the nearby table and reached out to Jaina. The air around Jaina was frigid, it prickled Sylvana's skin as Jaina overflowed with arcane energy, more so than usual. 

Jaina only stared at the ground, unaware of Sylvanas being nearby, the memory of Theramoore playing over and over again for the poor mage. She just wanted it over, she didn't want to feel it anymore, the arcane scars reminding her of the searing air from the manabomb. The scars flared up every time she reached that point of memory, causing a mangled scream to escape her mouth. The faces of people she called friends were burned into her mind, their expressions of agony fading away as Theramoore appeared perfectly fine only for a dreadful shadow to cast over the settlement. 

Sylvanas gently touched Jaina, trying not to scare the mage into reacting. She wondered what caused this, what caused the usually bright and powerful mage into something... Sylvanas shook her head. Whatever happened, has happened, and Jaina survived. When she could see Jaina wouldn't react she pulled Jaina closer. Jaina's skin was freezing to the touch, she wrapped her arms around the mage, pulling the mage's head into her neck, lightly carding her fingers through her mostly white hair. She could feel the tears dripping from Jaina's eyes, they soaked through her shirt and burned her skin. Jaina shivered in her arms, Sylvanas hearing the mangled, but silenced, screams coming from her mouth. Sylvanas rested her head on Jaina's, just murmuring words of encouragement that she didn't believe Jaina could hear while stuck in her memories. 

Eventually, Theramoore disappeared from Jaina's vision, leaving the mage alone. It was dark for her when she opened her eyes, a strange mix of cold and hot around her. Slender fingers made their way through her hair, tenderly scraping along her skull every now and then. It was comforting, not seeing anything and feeling an odd calmness. She could hear the rhythmic beating of a heart in her ears, slow but powerful. She took deep breaths, inhaling and exhaling to every beat. 

"I'm right here," a soft and familiar voice cooed into her ear, it sounded different than usual. Instead of a hidden sarcastic or teasing tone, it was just smooth on her ears. She recognized the voice, she knew she did, but she didn't say a word. Powerful arms held onto her, keeping her propped up as her knees wobbled. Her hands went to Sylvanas' side and clung onto her shirt, her fingers weakly grasping the fabric. 

Sylvanas felt responsible, in some way, for causing the reaction. Then again, it would have been inevitable, it just would have. Sylvanas sighed as she kept holding on, hoping that maybe, it'll be enough to comfort the mage.


	5. Damon

A week.

There was a week left until the summer cattle drive.

Sylvanas carefully adjusted her chaps, Temper stomping in excitement. Jaina watched from outside the massive corral, Baine next to her. Jaina hadn’t said much since that night a few weeks ago, she just quietly did everything Sylvanas asked, not arguing or causing a fuss. Her fingers tightened around the rope.

Jaina’s wound had fully healed, Sylvanas knew it was due to Jaina using her magic, but she wouldn’t fault the woman. It was a painful wound, Sylvanas knew that very well from her past. Her right arm went up as she swung the rope around a cow, pulling it to the side. Sylvanas had grown tired, she had grown so, so, _so_ tired. She pulled the cow off to the side, passing the rope off to Baine as he led the cow off into a separate pasture for the summer. She could feel Jaina’s eyes watching her, something calculating in the mage’s head.

Jaina could feel herself staring but couldn’t stop. She knew why she couldn’t stop but she pushed the thought away. It threatened the very delicate relationship both women had, or so Jaina believed. Baine returned to her side, passing the rope off to Sylvanas. Sylvanas’ pale gold hair shifted under her hat, framing the elf in a way that made Jaina suffer.

“We have one more cow to get Sylvanas, you know the one.” Sylvanas seemed to wince at Baine’s word, saving the worst for last. Sylvanas only nodded as Temper headed off into the herd of cattle.

“You know,” Baine turned to look down at the small human, always eager to see the mage. “I want to go on the cattle drive with Sylvanas.” Jaina said softly.

“That’s good to hear.” Baine said carefully, he seemed to know more than he let on. “Sylvanas thought you wouldn’t have wanted to go.”

“Why?”

“She, uh,” Baine started to stumble, he had already messed up, “she didn’t believe you’d want to stay around her.” Jaina fought a smile. “She has really enjoyed training you.”

“I’m insufferable.”

“I had to train Sylvanas.” Jaina laughed at how dead Baine sounded. “She was one of the _worst_ people I ever had to train, doing everything her way and disregarding what I said.” Baine gave out a low chuckle, “yet here she is, one of the best I’ve ever had the pleasure of hiring.”

Jaina watched Sylvanas throw the rope out, the cow it was aimed for jumping out of the way. An ear flicked in annoyance, from both the cow and Sylvanas.

“I’m a frost mage, I’m not-“

“You can be anything, Jaina.”

“That is one of the most cliché things I’ve ever heard.”

“But it is true? A river can turn a mountain into a canyon, but it takes time.”

Jaina remained quiet as she watched over the corral fence, her arms crossed on the top of the fence. She sighed as she rested her head on her arms. Baine grunted as he watched Sylvanas finally catch the cow, but the cow resisted, tugging on the rope. Jaina turned and looked up at Baine.

“Sylvanas believes in you, Jaina. I don’t know why she hasn’t voiced her beliefs, but,” Baine turned and looked Jaina head on, “she knows you can do this.” Jaina smiled, one so subtle but Baine caught it.

Jaina felt her face heat up. She clapped her hands against her cheeks, shaking her head, as if it would remove the blush on her face. Turning away she could tell her heart was racing, she didn’t know why Sylvanas hadn’t said anything. Her mind was racing to come up with solutions, but the pounding in her chest smothered any noise.

“I don’t have a horse.”

“I have one that I think is perfect for you,” Baine said, motioning for Jaina to follow. Jaina turned to look at Sylvanas, she was still fighting with the stubborn cow, trying to get it to follow her. Jaina only nodded as she followed after Baine, having to almost jog to keep up with him.

They reached a small building, a stable by the sound of the horses within. Opening the main doors, Baine motioned for Jaina to go in, she nervously stepped in, horses began to stick their heads out of stalls and eye her curiously. Baine walked in and placed a hand on Jaina’s shoulder. It was heavy, it felt like it crushed any nerves she had in the moment.

As they walked down the aisle, horses curiously reached out to nibble on Jaina, mostly reaching for her hair. They stopped in front of a stall, a massive, but beautiful horse, stared at her curiously. The horse was a dark gray, slate highlights peppered throughout its coat. It slowly reached out, nickering. Jaina reached out, the horse’s ears flattening at the motion, but they went back as her fingers gently scratched the horse’s nose. Jaina smiled as she began to pet the horse. It was vastly different from Temper’s firestorm personality. She remembered when she first met Temper, he was all up in her personal space, but this horse was reluctant.

“He’s yours, he’s got no name but surely you can think of one.” Jaina continued to pet the horse, his fur soft to the touch, his mane matching his fur. “Oh, and he’s a mule, not a horse.” The mule froze, looking at Baine, as if he was going to bite him. Baine only laughed as the mule became subdued by Jaina’s quiet cooing, nuzzling her in the face. Baine turned to leave, Jaina’s laughter sweet like honey.

“Thank you,” Jaina murmured softly, Baine kept walking, but he smiled.

“Sylvanas is a little blind to what’s in front of her.” Baine warned, the warning was more of a tease or a reminder than anything else. “Maybe she’ll realize soon enough.” Baine had left the small stable, Jaina continuing to fawn over the mule. Jaina opened his door, he carefully stepped out, patiently waiting for Jaina. Despite being absolutely massive, he was gentle as Jaina prepped him. Using the riding tack placed outside his stall and following the lesson Sylvanas’ taught nearly two months ago.

* * *

Sylvanas huffed as she finally led the cow to the edge of the corral, Baine running over to grab the rope that tried to rub through Sylvanas’ leather gloves and tear up her skin. She had learned that lesson a long time ago with this cow. Sylvanas noticed Jaina was missing but didn’t say a word as the cow jerked forward and forced her focus elsewhere. Angrily transferring the rope, Sylvanas shook her head, sweat flying off, her hair partially sticking to her face. She scowled at Baine, but he only offered a reassuring smile to try and calm her down.

"Where's the mage?" Sylvanas asked, annoyed. Baine only looked at her, clearly feigning the shrug he offered due to how high his shoulders shot up. Sylvanas watched as Baine coaxed the cow from the pen, struggling to lead her out as she dug her hooves into the dusty dirt. 

Sylvanas' ears flicked in response to a low thudding noise, her head swerved to where she believed the sound came from. Her eyes settled on a mule and its rider. Jaina had the whisper of a smile on her lips, her eyes gleaming with excitement when she saw Sylvanas. Sylvanas felt her heart race, the mule was beautiful, she had seen it once. His grey coat seemed to shimmer in the daylight, his tail waving behind him with every step he took. Sylvanas unconsciously controlled Temper to get as close to the edge of the fence as possible, to meet up with Jaina.

"I'm going."

"I thought you were going to leav-"

"No, I'm going with you. I decided," Jaina flashed a warm smile to Sylvanas, "that I'm not going to give up over a couple hiccups." Sylvanas remained silent, she fought with her ears as they softly shook and then immediately stopped. Jaina chuckled, already deciphering the elf's feelings about the statement. Sylvanas tried to speak a few times, but opening her mouth led to no noise, causing her ears to grow red from embarrassment. Jaina smirked, Sylvanas suddenly finding her voice.

"Well, Proudmoore, I-" Sylvanas reached up and rubbed the back of her neck, not very sure of what to say, "I look forward to working with you."

Jaina let out a hearty laugh. She gently patted the neck of her mule, he seemed to melt under Jaina's reassurance. Sylvanas smirked.

"What's the name for the pretty boy?"

"I've decided on Damon." Sylvanas nodded as she reached over to pet Damon, he snapped at her, Temper turning his head to look at the mule in a challenge. Damon only turned his head, pretending to be unaware to the stallion's challenge.


	6. Drive!

“She killed two of our own.” A troll hissed, his tusks gleaming in the fires of the cave.

“Did you kill her in return?” A low voice growled; the troll cowered from the voice, losing all courage he had.

“We-we-we thought it was Windrunnder, boss.” A mouth full of teeth, but missing a massive fang, lunged towards the troll, attempting to tear into the frightened troll.

“A woman, not Windrunner, killed two of our men and you didn’t kill her back?” The voice continued, stepping down from a crude throne carved from the cave’s rock walls. “You could have captured her at least.” Slobber dripped onto the troll, the troll guards looked at each other. They swallowed as their boss’ large paws pulled the troll forward by his tusks. The troll whimpered as he stared into the cold, amber eyes of his boss.

“We wounded her, we shot at her boss!”

“I’ll spare you this moment,” The paws let go of the tusks, aggressively pushing them away. “Bring me the woman, or I’ll have you next.” The troll’s boss deeply growled, the troll stumbling through thanks as he backed away.

“Yes boss, I swear, I will bring her back.” The troll said finally before he turned and ran from the cave.

* * *

Sylvanas and Jaina carefully pushed the cows from the corral, a string of horses following the herd. The cows murmured as they slowly moved through the sandy dirt, the sun’s light barely breaking the horizon, but they seemed to already bake in the little light that shone. Jaina shifted her hat, Sylvanas gifting her a hat as a reward for finishing very basic training. The brim, thankfully, blocked the harsh light from her eyes. She was exhausted, just from waking up so early and preparing Damon and Temper for the long ride.

“Once we get them through, we gotta get them to run.” Sylvanas shouted over the rumbling of cow hooves.

“Run?”

“Tires them out from trying to kill us.”

Jaina only nodded as she pulled the reigns, turning Damon away from the herd. Sylvanas taking point right behind the herd, Jaina watched as Temper began to get excited. Temper began to buck, his head ducked down and Sylvanas holding tightly, Jaina able to see the elf shift herself ever so slightly to keep balance. Jaina was warned about Temper’s excitement, but she had never seen it firsthand and was awed. Temper reared up, roaring as he came back down and charged at one of the cows. Of course, he wasn’t going to collide with the cow, Sylvanas turned him away at the last moment, but she turned him again and let him charge the same cow.

The cow let out a loud and long wail after the second charge, triggering the rest of the herd to start running. It was like a domino falling, the alarm causing the cows in the back to panic and run against the cows in front of them. Like a waterfall, the terrified cows crashed into each other, some jumping over the ones in front of them, they looked as if they were an ocean wave crashing on an unsuspecting ship. The ground shook with the cows’ terrified trampling of each other, determined to get far away from a threat that wasn’t there. Sylvanas pointed to the left of the herd and ran off to the right. Nudging Damon’s side, the mule galloped up the herd’s left, Jaina leading him to chase after any cows that attempted to break from the herd.

They neared the edge of the property, Baine off in the distance on his kodo, he offered a simple wave, shouting something that the wind carried away. Both women only offered waves in return, keeping their eyes on the murmuring cows who slowly fell from the heights of their worry. Sylvanas slowed Temper down, comfortably taking the rear of the now soothed herd. Sylvanas smiled at Jaina who joined her, Jaina’s eyes seemed to beam with excitement, her cheeks were red with a soft blush.

“That was most of the excitement for the day, unless we get unlucky.” Sylvanas joked, Jaina smiling at her. “For the rest of the day we just need to push them to town limits,” Sylvanas said, pulling out a map from the saddlebag on her right.

“Will we be going through town?” Sylvanas offered a mischievous grin towards Jaina.

Jaina shook her head, shooting her laughter down. Sylvanas passed the map to Jaina, it showed in detail of where they were to pass. They just had the desert to go through, and then they would reach a canyon. Sylvanas seemed to have written a message or reminder above the canyon’s name, but it was all in Thalassian.

“What does this message say?” Jaina pointed at the Thalassian script, Sylvanas looked at it and her face went dark.

“It’s a warning to look out for Bloodstained’s gang,” Sylvanas said slowly, “the gang you killed two trolls from and who you got your bullet from.” Jaina unconsciously reached up to the wound, sometimes it would sting her if she stretched the muscle the wrong way, but by now it had healed over. “We have to be careful there, they target any herd,” Sylvanas continued, pulling out a massive fang. The fang was crusted in blood, leather strips wrapped around it, Sylvanas tied it to Jaina’s saddle horn. “They’ll kill anyone and anything to satisfy their boss’ hunger.”

“Is this one of Bloodstained’s fangs?” Jaina asked quizzically, picking the fang up and turning it in her hands. One edge was heavily serrated, and the tooth was chipped, but still sharp. The fang was as long as her head, she shuddered at the thought of her skull getting punctured and crushed by the fang.

“Pulled it out myself. Dumbass tried to get his gang to come after me, after killing most of his members he came after me personally.”

“I can see it didn’t end up well for him.”

Sylvanas laughed. Damon looking up at her, almost angry, but a warning glare from Temper was enough to keep the mule calm. Sylvanas gently petted Temper, Jaina mirroring the movement on Damon.

They rode in silence, Jaina chasing after any cows on the left side that tried to separate from the herd, Sylvanas chasing the right side. Sylvanas softly hummed every now and then, just pushing the cows onwards, occasionally she took the front of the herd, guiding them through the terrain.

Town came into view, Jaina watched curiously as Sylvanas tucked the map away, taking her hat off. Her hair in a ponytail flowing in the wind like loose silk fabric. Sylvanas comfortably laid back, taking her feet from the stirrups, resting hem on the swell of her saddle, crossing her ankles. She smiled as she placed her hat on her face, Temper keeping pace as they walked into town. They were much slower than when Sylvanas returned two months ago.

People in town pointed and laughed, many of them cheering on cows. Jaina could see the sheriff rush from his office, clearly upset as he saw Sylvanas leading the cow herd.

“Windrunner!” Sylvanas didn’t respond, Jaina was sure she was smirking under her hat. “Windrunner, I know you’re awake!” Jaina stifled a laugh that would have came out as a cackle. The sheriff noticed her and seemed to explode. “Missy! I thought I told you not to end up like Windrunner!”

“I just couldn’t resist, sheriff,” Jaina smiled, waving her hand, “Sylvanas is too much of an enticing woman for me to ignore.” The sheriff smiled as he shook his head.

“You best make sure she don’t drive those cows back through here in the winter!” The sheriff shouted after the herd as they passed his building. Jaina only shook her head, offering a sweet smile in return. The sun had barely reached its peak in the sky, flooding its heat over the arid land.

* * *

The sun was setting, the herd of cows beginning to settle into the dirt. Sprigs of grass broke through the dirt, the air cooler. Jaina dismounted from Damon, the mule nudging her in the shoulder. Sylvanas had pulled out an oil lamp, settling it near a campfire pit that had been dug years ago. Jaina watched from Damon’s side as Sylvanas searched for her matches, Sylvanas glanced at her, picking up speed trying to search for the matches. Jaina smirked as she waved her hand, a simple flame conjuring within her palms, Damon nervously stepped back. Flicking her wrist, the flame flew directly into the lantern, going from fueling on arcane energy to the oil in the lamp. Sylvanas shot up in surprise, at the sudden burst of light in the lamp.

“I thought-“

“We’re near town limits, no harm.” Jaina shrugged, soothing the nervous mule. Temper made his signature huffing sound, too close to a laugh for Jaina’s liking at some moments. He snapped at Sylvanas’ hat, she didn’t move as he took the hat and began to play with it, prancing off with the hat.

Jaina settled by the lamp, yawning, Sylvanas chasing down one of the horses. Jaina watched Sylvanas, her shirt sleeves didn’t leave much of Sylvanas’ muscular arms to imagine. Jaina quickly looked away, focusing on a cow who looked to be struggling to get up. Dust flew everywhere, but the first time it happened Jaina had panicked and Sylvanas had to comfort her. She now knew the cow was taking a dust bath to cool off.

Sylvanas came back, caring a few logs of firewood under one arm and a small pot, its contents a small package and two cans of beans, and some minor pouches. In Sylvanas’ mouth was a stick, Jaina rolled her eyes as it reminded her of a past suitor carrying a rose over. Jaina watched inquisitively as Sylvanas started the fire, using the flame from the lantern. Jaina pushed herself up and walked over, glancing at the food materials.

“Do you need any help?” Jaina asked, leaning over Sylvanas’ shoulder, Sylvanas shot up, smacking Jaina in the face with her shoulder.

“Jaina! Please,” Sylvanas was clutching her chest and gripping Jaina’s wrist. Sylvanas quickly slowed her breath from the sudden shock, nervously chuckling. “Please, I’d like some help,” Sylvanas placed the pot into the flame, handing the mysterious package to Jaina, “could you please cook about half of this up, just soften it don’t crisp it.” Jaina opened the package, strips of bacon, rather fatty strips of bacon.

“Do I need to cut them up or something?” Jaina queried, taking a little less than half the package of bacon.

“Yeah, they’re soft enough to be torn” Sylvanas crouched low to the ground and began opening the tins, “oh don’t let them get stuck to the pot, here’s the stick.” Jaina caught the stick that flew through the air. Jaina crouched on the edge of the fire pit, ripping the bacon up into pieces, tossing them into the pot with a satisfying sizzle. She poked and prodded at them with the stick, doing her best to not let them stick or crisp up.

Sylvanas glanced up at Jaina, the fire dancing at the mage’s hands while she cooked the meat. Jaina’s crouch was not normal. Well, more that Sylvanas hadn’t seen a human crouch when getting low to the ground, almost always opting to kneel or sit. Her feet were flat on the ground, not leaning forward or unbalanced, her legs perfectly bent to hold her weight. It mirrored Sylvanas’ crouch in the moment. Sylvanas carefully stood up, carrying the two cans over. Sylvanas grew nervous when Jaina looked over, her eyes softening when she looked at the elf, the warm glow of the nearby fire making her blue eyes seem like an earth rich brown. Sylvanas didn't say a word as she crouched down and poured the cans in, black and pinto beans settling over the soft bacon.

"It already smells heavenly." Jaina whispered, Sylvanas smirked.

"You haven't said that about anything I've cooked in the past." 

"I was never around when you cooked!" Jaina playfully slapped Sylvanas on the stomach. Sylvanas laughed, gently taking the stick from her partner.

"Oh, woe is me, my heart broken by my pardner-"

"Never say partner like that, ever." Jaina snorted, she covered her mouth as Sylvanas looked at her with a cheeky grin. Jaina struggled to hold back a laugh, Sylvanas chuckling as she pulled some of the small pouches close, pulling out a small handful of salt and mixing it in.

"Ye don't gots to be like that perdy lady, I-" Jaina burst out with laughter, her hands trying to smother the snorts that escaped her. Sylvanas bowed while tipping her invisible hat towards Jaina, Jaina's laugh like music. Jaina rolled back, gasping for air through her giggles, Sylvanas just shook her head in amusement as she stirred the beans, pulling them off the flame. She pulled out some more spices, mixing them in while joining Jaina in her laughter. 

A cow nervously got up, kicking at the air shouting, the rest of the cows watching. Sylvanas and Jaina froze, looking at the poor animal as she tripped and landed with a heavy thud, a cracking noise in the air. Sylvanas stood up, scanning the group for anything out of the ordinary. She passed the stick off to Jaina, creeping towards the cow. She was dead, no doubt. Sylvanas placed her hand on her pistol, looking around the area. With a sigh, Sylvanas walked away, shaking her head as she settled by the fire with Jaina.

A troll cowered in the dirt where Sylvanas once stood, praying, to anyone out there, that Sylvanas did not see him. His small group hid in the herd of cows watching in horror, and unmoving lest they cause the same accident.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After this chapter, I'm planning on releasing chapters every Sunday, just to give myself more time to be sure I have done my best work :)   
> Also so I can work ahead on chapters and get an accurate chapter count for the future


	7. Warnings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Posted early because I won't be able to post Sunday, I hope everyone had a happy holiday!

Sandy fields finally disappeared into warm, lush fields. The sun shone through large clouds, dappled rays of light hitting the rolling hills and nourishing the grass tall passing the knees of the horses and cows. The cows welcoming the sight of the greenery and enjoying fresh grass when they settled in at various points. Sylvanas turned and peeked at Jaina, the woman's face quite blank, but she couldn't blame her.

Both women were quiet as they pushed on, the unsettling nature of that night a couple days ago put them on edge. Sylvanas was worried a little more than Jaina was, her mind was constantly racing as she recalled the details, trying to gleam any information of what had happened. Temper was even spooked, slight noises off in distance always had him ready to run off now. Sylvanas wouldn't dare tell Jaina she was worried or even slightly panicked about the event, the amount of pride Sylvanas had was so overwhelming that it hurt Sylvanas quite often. Right now, it was hurting her in the way that she couldn't tell Jaina that perhaps she was in danger and to stay close. 

Sylvanas shook her head, she couldn't. She couldn't admit that having Jaina off more than a few yards from her made her panic, even though Sylvanas was aware that she was just being overbearing. _I could spin it as me protecting my current source of arcane energy_ , Sylvanas' mind began to wander as she tried to figure out a way to spin being extra protective of the mage. In the wanderings of her mind, she failed to notice that Jaina had wandered off, floating more towards the back of the herd now. There was a familiar sound that exploded in their ears.

Sylvanas reacted a little too late, but Jaina had immediately thrown up a magic barrier. The characteristic screaming of a flying bullet was abruptly ended by a spine shivering magical whine. Sylvanas snapped out of her daze and looked at Jaina, she seemed more shocked than anything else. Tugging Temper over, Sylvanas quickly reached Jaina's side.

"You have to go, now." Sylvanas started to charge a cow in the group, causing them to stampede, many of the cows frozen in shock by the gunshot that was fading away. 

"Sylvanas I ca-"

" _Now_." Jaina grew a little frustrated, her magic shield crackling with an overflow of arcane energy, heating the barrier up. Another bullet flew threw the air, yet it never hit the barrier as it burned away in the air. Damon became nervous as he watched the herd run away, the mule having filled his new position amazingly and took his job seriously. Sylvanas took her pistol out of her holster, aiming it up in the air. 

"Sylv-" Sylvanas turned Temper perpendicular to Damon, Temper kicking the mule and sending the mule chasing after the herd. Jaina screaming as she held on tightly, Sylvanas turning towards the direction of the the bullets. She kept her pistol up in the air as she and Temper fully faced the invisible threat. She quickly turned back to see Jaina grow small on the horizon, melting into the herd of cows and becoming undetectable. Sylvanas' ears flicked as she tried to detect any sound out of place. There was a loud rumble.

A bullet whizzed by. Sylvanas quickly pointed her pistol and pulled the trigger, the recoil pushing her arm back, but Sylvanas ignored a slight sting. Her left ear began to sting slightly after the bullet flew by, but she ignored it as she continued to look towards the origin.

The long and low rumbling of a war horn echoed throughout the plains. The sound caussing Sylvanas to hiss in anger and Temper to stomp. A trollish head popped up above the grass, aiming a rifle at Sylvanas. Before the troll could fire another bullet, Sylvanas pulled the trigger again. It had hit the troll, a loud cry of pain flying through the air. Sylvanas watched as the troll collapsed into the grass, the unfortunate timing on their part leading to their death. 

Without a second thought, Sylvanas charged the where the troll was. She could see the grass shift in the way trolls practically slithered through to escape. Temper skidded as he quickly turned to chase one of the escaping trolls. His steps heavy as they hit thr ground with a characteristic thud. Sylvanas felt the sweat drip off her face as she traced the escaping troll through the grass, pulling the trigger. 

The movement had stopped but Temper banked again as another troll passed right by them. Dirt and grass flying through the air as his hooves dug into the ground. They cought up to the troll, Temper stomped down on the troll, catching the poor thing as the sound of cracking echoed through the air.

Sylvanas hopped off Temper, training her pistol on the wounded troll. He cowered as she approached, struggling to break free from the heavyweight horse pinning him down. Sylvanas kneeled down, lowering her pistol as she did so.

"What do you want?" Sylvanas bared her teeth at the troll, her white fangs shined in the sunlight. The troll gained courage, spitting in Sylvanas' face, she let out a low growled as she pulled him by the collar close to her face. Her ears flattened against her skull and her pupils narrowed in on the trolls throat. The troll quickly regretted his decision as he tried to squirm away.

"Tell him," Sylvanas' grip tightened on the troll, "that I will take another of his fangs if he comes after me and my apprentice." The troll shielded his face from the sharp hiss that escaped Sylvanas' lips as she threw him to the ground. The troll struggled to push himself up, but he quickly staggered away.

Sylvanas watched, her hand gripping tightly onto the pistol. The sweat on her face weighed her eyebrows down, making her look like a wet, pissed off cat. Pulling herself up by the saddle horn, Sylvanas looked over the grassy field. She could see trails following after the troll she had just released. She quickly aimed her pistol at one of the moving moving trails and squeezed the trigger.

The moving trail had stopped, but the rest of them now moved quickly, chasing after the running troll.

Sylvanas turned to the herd, it was fading over the horizon. It was a smudge, something that could calm her, the cows murmurings were faint on her ears. Temper pranced over, spooked by the recent ambush, he was on high alert. His eyes wide and ears constantly swiveling around, Sylvanas' ears copying Temper's. Her hand still gripped onto the pistol, her knuckles becoming white. She feared to holster the weapon completely.

The blob came into view, Jaina weaving through the crowd of cows to meet Sylvanas. If she had a smirk, Sylvanas couldn't tell how wide it was as she rode up to the mage, the mage's eyes were soft. The softness was just filled with wamrth, but it quickly faded away. Her eyes pooled with worry as Sylvanas settled next to Jaina.

"Sylvanas, your ear." Jaina reached over, nearly slipping off her saddle but catching herself on Sylvanas' shoulder. Sylvanas' nerves caused her to hiss at the sudden contact, but quickly relaxed. The moment Jaina touched Sylvanas' ears, they shot straight up.

Sylvanas scowled at Jaina, the mage ignoring the weak threat as she looked at the gunshot wound in the middle of Sylvanas' ear. Sylvanas couldn't feel an excruciating pain Jaina did because her ears weren't that sensitive to damage, just touch. 

"You have a hole in your left ear."

Sylvanas barked a laugh.

"I've always had a hole in my ear." Jaina rolled her eyes as she created a mirror from her magic. At the sight of the gaping hole in her ear, Sylvanas stopped and leaned in closer, pulling her ear down. She tried her best to look at it with her own eyes. Jaina had never seen Sylvanad looked so shocked, but her eyes were wide as she stuck a slender finger through the wound. "I guess you're right there, miss."

Oddly no blood came from the wound, perhaps a light speckling but it was clean. Jaina sighed as she dissipated the mirror, taking Sylvanas's ear into her hands.

"It won't look pretty, but at least there won't be a hole in your ear." Jaina was on the edge of cooing and plain speaking. Sylvanas shivered at the sound, it was soft and gentle, like silken robes to her eardrums.

Jaina focused her magic, she wasn't much of a healer, more focused on damaging her enemies than fixing her allies. As Jaina worked, she hadn't noticed she begun to hum a soft tune, it was like a wave that ebbed up the shore and retreated back. Simple and sweet to the ears, an old Kul Tiran lullaby. 

Sylvanas listened closely, Kul Tirans and their need to sing. She had met a few, all of them singing everyday, she couldn't recognize the tune but recognized the signature Kul Tiran beat patterns. Sylvanas only stared at the herd before her, many of the cows peacefully grazing. 

Sylvanas shuddered at the soft whispers of touch from Jaina's fingers, they screamed at her with every slight pass. Eventually, Sylvanas was reoeased from the torture, her heart sporadic in her chest, and her feelings conflicting with each other. Sylvanas quickly tempered her breathing as Jaina summoned another mirror.

She really did her best to patch it up, but it was still gnarly to look at. Sylvanas wished she had kept the hole, for her personal pride and to annoy Jaina, but she smiled at Jaina's proud grin.

"I see why you're a frost mage," Sylvanas joked, earning a soft slap on the arm. Sylvanas laughing as Jaina tried to tell her off. Sylvanas only rallied the herd to move, the cows slowly agreeing and lumbering off, Jaina still trying to explain why she was such a terrible healer.

Eventually Jaina had realized how fruitless it was to talk to Sylvanas about why she was a frost mage and not a healer. She settled into her saddle, and heaved a long sigh. Sylvanas looked over, her long eyebrows exaggerating the questioning look she shot towards Jaina. A reassured smile was her response, and with a roll of her eyes Sylvanas turned her eyes forward.

A mountain range was coming into view, they were not a lush green, but were speckled with green. Red soil dominating the visible peaks and some fir and pine trees dotting the slopes. Sylvanas pulled out her map, she pulled some buttons from her shirt as she heated up in the evening sun, and carefully looking over the details of it.

Jaina glanced at Sylvanas and nearly had to strangle a gasp. Sylvanas had unbuttoned her shirt a little too low for Jaina to not look. She couldn't stop herself from staring, a part of her screaming at her to stop. Sylvanas' eyes glanced over, locking with Jaina's light ocean-colored eyes. Jaina quickly looked forward, trying to focus on something else, she heard Sylvanad giggle. _Did Sylvanas giggle? Was she even capable of it?_ Jaina did her best to control her mind and eyes as she just stared at the back of Damon's head, the mule huffing. She had concentrated so intently that she couldn't hear Sylvanas calling her attention.

"Jaina!"

Jaina's head shot straight up as she immediately looked at Sylvanas, surprised as Sylvanas rarely used her first name. She could tell her face was red, the warmth in her face practically hot enough to fry an egg.

"Y-yes?" Jaina's voice shook, betraying her in the moment. Sylvanas laughed as she held up the map.

"We'll be reaching the canyon soon, there'll be a water source there. Since we're so ahead of schedule," Jaina controlled her breathing as her mind wandered off into shameful ideas that she knew Sylvanas would only laugh at, "we can rest for a few days."

"That sounds good." Jaina said a little to quickly, Sylvanas smirked as she slowly folded the map up. She was carefully choosing her words, not wanting to be frozen solid.

"You liked what you saw, huh?" Her voiced dripped with a kind of teasing that only Sylvanas could compose. Jaina heated up as her knuckles turned white as her figers tightened on the reigns. Sylvanas barked another laugh. "You humans are really prudish in moments," she shook her head amused. Laying back in her saddle, peacefully nodding off.

* * *

The troll cowered on his back under the hungry stare of his boss. Bloodstained laughed as he picked up the troll by their tusks before him. The troll yowling in pain, clutching his leg where the horse had stomped on him.

"Windrunner"s got a new apprentice?" Bloodstained howled in delight. "She's gone a little soft, hasn't she?"

The troll pushed against Bloodstained's heavy paws, the gnoll leader delighted at the struggling troll. 

"Boss, she said she'd take another fang, I-" 

"No she wouldn't," Bloodstained let out a hearty laugh. He released the troll, the poor thing hitting the ground with a pitiful thud. Bloodstained circled the whimpering troll, smiling in delight. "Windrunner's got a small little ember following her around, an ice mage as your report says," the troll only nodded as Bloodstained continued, "surely Windrunner will give us a nice deal."

The troll shuddered at the toothy grin, Bloodstained's teeth glittering gruesomely in the cave's fire lighting. It was deviously sharp, his smile no doubt something that would have rivaled the absolute evil that radiated off Ice Crown Citadel. The troll cowered as Bloodstained leaned in.

"I'm getting a little hungry," he cooed, his claws gently tracing the mane of hair on the troll's head. Without warning, his claws gripped onto the troll's head, the troll gulping a scream as Bloodstained sunk his teeth into the troll's shoulder. 

The guards in the cave went pale as they watched their boss rip into the screaming troll, the troll thrashing weakly. The troll died as Bloodstained pawed through the spilled entrails, laughing as he ripped the troll's liver out and took a massive bite. The fur on his muzzle becoming progressively darker as the evening feast went on in private.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -Sorry for such a weak and uneventful chapter.
> 
> -Jaina is a gay mess.
> 
> -Really couldn't think of a title, accepting alternate chapter titles


End file.
